Friday, September 23, 2011

As I get ready to head down to Unionville to cover the West Stanly - Piedmont football game tonight, here are some random thoughts for the day!

- I saw on Twitter where former Baltimore Raven Orlando Brown passed away today at the age of 40. Brown was the player infamous for shoving referee Kirk Triplette down to the ground after Triplette threw a flag that hit Brown in the eye.

Brown later sued the NFL, claiming that the incident shortened his NFL career because of temporary blindness, later settling for somewhere between $15 to $20 million.

That was one of the odder incidents in the history of live sports, but people fail to realize how dangerous things really are on the fields and race tracks.

I saw a report on Insider Edition about the recent deaths at a Reno air show, and saw a four-year old child on the sidelines of a college football game get run over.

As someone that has cheated serious injury (knock on wood) while walking sidelines for over six years now as a sports editor, just let me say that if you are on the sidelines or in the stands of a football game or other events, please keep your eyes on the action when the action is in progress. The life you save may be your own or your family's life as well.

- If Friday's Albemarle - West Montgomery game wasn't big enough already, it is much bigger now thanks to the cancellation to Monday night.

With all the military events rescheduled for Monday as well, more football fans will likely be at the game for this one, as well as those following other schools getting a chance to see a rare Stanly County Monday Night Football game on Monday night (we will be taping for television and it will air later in the week, not sure when yet).

I'm excited to see Jaquil Capel in action for West Montgomery. I understand through the grapevine that there are a number of Div. I schools recruting him, including Georgia Tech.

The game could really make a big impact for the standings of the Yadkin Valley Conference, as well as be one of the most entertaining games of the season.

- It's also hard to believe that the Stanly County Panthers have reached the end of their first regular season. It's been a long trip in mostly overly hot weather for a group of men that have fought adversity all season long to be within one victory of a plus-.500 record for their first season ever.

The Panthers' final home game is on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at North Stanly High School and I know that the players and staff would love to see a big crowd that night.

Stanly will make the playoffs and has a good chance of hosting a home playoff game. In the Central Carolina Football League, the top four teams get a bye in the first week, and the next four (I believe) would get home game

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Here are two items that should concern Panther fans from Sunday's home game:

- I read in the Charlotte Observer where Steve Smith was seen yelling at a fan in the third quarter after fumbling the football.

Though Smith probably should not be even giving the fans any notice during the game, the problem is the way he was carrying the football as he was going out of bounds: with one hand.

I know that I have never played the game, and I admit that my experience in the game comes from just general observations, but if you have two guys on you and you already have the first down, ball security has to come first. The extra couple of yards he would have gotten with a stretched-out hand were not as important as possession.

Besides, the only time that a player should try that move with one hand is to get a first down or at the goalline; it's a uncharacteristic sloppy play from a veteran wide receiver that the Panthers desperately need to make big plays.

- While still on the Panthers' game from Sunday, here is another odd choice, this one by the offensive braintrust.

It's third down and one for Carolina from the Packer three-yard line with about four minutes left in the game, and instead of just running the football to get the first down, the Panthers ran a rollout passing play in which Cam Newton lost three yards on the sack.

I know that Carolina had not run well Sunday, but if you can't get one yard on a play, then something needs to change in the running game.

If you get the first down without the touchdown, you might be able to run a little more clock with a couple of short runs or force the Packers to call timeouts.

It's a moot point now, but at the time, it could have made a huge difference.

About Me

I have been the sports editor of the SNAP since August 2008, and was previously the sports editor from 1999-2001. I also am the host for Stanly County Monday Night Football on SCC-TV Cable Channel 21, and I am the public address announcer for the Pfeiffer Falcons basketball teams. I am married to an amazing Stanly County girl, my beautiful wife Laura, and love the life that I live here in the greatest state in the country!